The present invention claims the benefit of the filing date of the provisional application filed on 9 Oct. 2012 by the same inventor hereof, Darren Livingston, for “Digital Printer Platen Material Holding Apparatus” and is an improvement in the field of U.S. Pat. No. 7,854,200.
The invention relates generally to digital printing machines wherein, as is known, the printer prints on textiles directly. Digital printing is a much newer process than the long established screen printing technique, although the latter technique is still in wide use. The digital printing method makes possible the reproduction of complicated design, to print colors and detail that were not feasible before, to readily make changes in design etc.
Digital printers can effectively print on different type materials and on material of different sizes and on material placed or positioned on a relatively large platen. It has been found that the materials positioned on the platen must be wrinkle free, and be stretched tautly and smoothly over the platen to provide satisfactory printing results. Since the platens and the material positioned thereon are both relatively of large size, better means have been sought for positioning/mounting the material on the platen in a smooth, wrinkle free and firmly taut fashion.